High school students in Fairfax County currently start school at 7:20 a.m., a time that leaves them chronically sleep deprived. Pushing high school start times past 8 a.m. would have an impact on everything from behavior to grades to driving records and sports injuries, the CNMC experts say.

The FCPS Board voted in 2012 to change start times. They hope to have a plan implemented by the 2015-16 school year.

The original Option 3 had a 6 hour, 40 minute school day, with high schools beginning from 8 to 8:10 a.m. and ending between 2:30 and 2:40 p.m. Elementaries would start between 8 and 9:20 a.m., which is essentially the current schedule. Middle schools would see a big change with a 7:20 a.m. start and a 2 p.m. dismissal.

The amendments that will be discussed by the school board include a school day that is five minutes longer and pushing the middle school start until 7:30 a.m. The board says that in the future, “our goal will be to continue to seek
improvements for even later start times so that middle schools will move towards 8:00 and high
schools will move towards 8:30.”

The revised plan will cost less than anticipated, according to FCPS documents. The original Option 3 was estimated to cost $5.5 million, mostly to cover 46 new buses.

The revised plan will use fewer buses, and the purchase of 20 new buses has already been allocated in the FY 2015 school board budget, bringing costs to an estimated $1.5 million to $4.9 million, depending on which areas are amended.

I can’t believe that after all of the science, they are actually throwing the middle schoolers under the bus by making their start times 20 minutes EARLIER. Are we really making much progress here? The high school times are still not within the doctor recommended limits. Didn’t we all agree a couple of months ago that we are doing harm to our children?

Middle School Dreading

The middle school option makes no sense. You go from having a fairly decent start time in elementary school and then for two years, you get up at the crack of dawn to “learn”, and then back to a better start time. Do they not think that students aged 12-14 need more sleep too? This is one of the hardest times in the school system when a lot of peer pressuring, teasing, and development happens and yet the schools seem blind to this.

RestonMom

I agree with the previous 2 commentors that Option 3 does not make sense for middle school kids. Children’s National proved to all of us that the adolescent brain needs to be sleeping during those early morning hours. MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS ARE ADOLESCENTS, TOO! The public meeting I attended showed overwhelming community support for Option 4. What happened since last spring? At least half of the girls in 6th grade nowadays have gone through puberty before they finish 6th grade. These kids already need a later start time after 8:30 am. Plus, Option 4 costs less than half of the cost of Option 3. What is the rationale for choosing Option 3 over Option 4?